Infinity: Sound of the Waves
by Juliet's Shadow
Summary: 'When mom left me at that bus stop, you were the only one who made being abandoned bearable. I can't believe I found you' Finnick has always been deaf. No one understands him. Annie has always been different. No one ever wanted to let her in. When their lives cross suddenly they seem invincible. Yet invincible doesn't last forever, does it? Modern Thanks to MikeyJacquez for cover!
1. Prologue

**Alright guys, before we get started with this story, anything in italics ****_written like this _****are words being signed. Any words 'written like this' are words being written. I'm telling y'all this now to avoid confusion. Enjoy!**

Prologue- 2003

_Finnick_

Mom and dad are arguing, again. What did I do this time? It is probably my fault. It is always my fault. The way they move their hands, I can't tell what they are saying. They are yelling at one another. I can tell that by the way mom is turning red and dad keeps running his hands through his hair. They just yell at one another like I'm not even here. After a while, they stop yelling. Mom comes over to me. _Finnick, you are going to stay with Mags. Do you remember her? Dad's mom? _

I nod. I remember Mags. She is always nice to me. She never treats me like I am broken. I appreciate that. _I remember Mags. _I sign back to her, my hands moving as quickly as a six year old can. _How long? _

Mom lets out a sigh and shakes her head. _I don't know, Finnick. I don't know. Go pack up the toys and books you want to take. I'll get you some clothes. _

I nod and does as she says. I wonder what hearing is like. Mom and Dad can do it. My baby sisters, the twins, Eloise and Daisy, can do it. Why can't I? My speech teacher, Beetee, tells me I talk almost as well as a hearing person. He says I'll be able to sound just like one when I get older. I'm glad about that. I stuff several books into my favorite bag. The one I make sure to grab is strange. It's a book of Fairy Tales. Mom told me she bought the book for Eloise and Daisy, since it is a book with lots of Princesses in it, but the pictures are so pretty and the words are very nice. I could read it for hours. My favorite story is Beauty and the Beast. The girl falls in love with the Beast even though he is different. When she finally tells him she loves him, he gets turned into a Prince and becomes normal. I wonder if that will happen to me.

My mom comes out of my closet with a bag of all my clothes. _Ready to go, Finnick? _Her fingers sign slowly. She can't sign as fast as I can.

I nod. _Yes mom. I'm ready. _

She puts me into the car and takes me to a bus stop. _You are going to stay on the bus until Mags comes to get you off. Understand? _I nod. _Good. I'll see you later, Finnick. _

She just leaves me there. She drives off, not even making sure the bus will come to grab me. I sigh and pull out the Fairy Tale book. I don't know how long I am reading it when I feel a tap on my shoulder. There is a girl about my age holding hands with her mom. She has stright brown hair pulled into pig tails and is wearing a red and white dress and red rain boots and has a blue back pack on her back. She opens her mouth and seems to say something. I tilt my head, confused. After a moment I get she is trying to talk to me. I point to my ear and shake my head. The girl turns to her mom and her mom seems to explain. After appearing to get it, she comes and sits down next to me. She pulls a spiral and writes in it with a pink crayon. 'My name is Annie.'

She pulls out a blue crayon and gives it to me. 'My name is Finnick.'

She seems to giggle and writes more in the spiral. 'That is a silly name.'

Annie's mom seems to scold her, but I laugh. 'So is Annie.' Annie laughs right back at me.

We sit there writing one another notes until the bus arrives. I get on, as does Annie and her mom. 'Where are you getting off at?' She writes.

I shrug. 'I don't know. I am supposed to wait for my Grandma to come get me.' Annie nods and starts to write again, but I don't miss the way Annie's mom presses her lips together in a tight line as she reads that. She then tells her daughter something.

'My mom wants to know where your mom and dad are.' She writes in the pink color.

I pull out my blue and write some more. 'Mom dropped me off at the bus and told me to stay on the bus until my grandma got me. Dad stayed at home with my sisters.' Annie's mom looks really sad. I don't know why.

They don't get off of the bus until I do. They stay on until they see my Grandma getting on and explaining to the bus driver she is picking me up. Grandma Mags has a kind face. She looks a lot different from dad. She has curly brown hair streaked with gray hair pulled back into a pony tail. She seems kind, motherly. When she sees me, her eyes light up. As we are getting off, Annie's mom is speaking to her. Annie is holding the spiral under her arm. Eventually we must say goodbye, though. I feel really sad about that.I don't like having to say goodbye to my friend, especially since she is the first one I had. We give one another a hug and a smile and we head off our separate ways. I watch as Annie goes off. She is skipping. I know her favorite color is pink. Her favorite animal is a dolphin and her favorite movie is The Little Mermaid. She knows my favorite color is blue. My favorite animal is a shark and my favorite movie is Beauty and the Beast. I watch her as Mags and I drive off. Annie and her mom are walking. They are walking to a nice apartment complex that is by the bus. I don't remember what Mag's house looks like, but I love what is looks like when I get there.

It is a small house. It is painted blue and has lots of green grass around it. It also has a white fence surrounding it. _Finnick, I'll show you to your room. We can decorate it how ever you want. We can buy paint tomorrow and have a party painting the walls? That sound fun?_

I nod and smile. Not only does my grandma have a nice house, she can sign really well. I can also smell cookies being baked from out here. I think I'm going to enjoy living here.

**Alright guys? What do you think! This is the second installment in the Infinity Series, but you do not need to read part one to understand part two! Cool, huh? If you want to read part one then go check out Infinity: Sea Glass, but if you don't want to, that is perfectly fine! **

**-Juliet**


	2. Whiteboards and Making Out

**Okay guys, chapter 1 is out! Yay! I am enjoying writing this story and the chapters are shorter than the chapters of Graceland, so I hope it'll get updated at a pretty decent pace. I love writing both stories though, so next chapter to come out on one of my stories will probably be on Graceland! Keep an eye out! Reminder: ****_Italics mean sign language. _****'Single quotes mean written.' "Quotation marks mean normal speaking." Thanks guys! Also, I need a banner (picture) for this story! If you want to make one, shoot me a pm! We will discuss options :) **

_I dont care I VV: I am glad you like it!_

_indelibilities: Thank you very much! I have great plans for this form. I think I like these versions of them better than the old versions of them. That might just be because it is modern day and easier to write..._

_Epicblonde52: Aww thank you! I love hearing people say they love my stories. That makes me feel like I should actually pursue writing as an actual career. I wish I knew how to sign. I had to play Anne Sullivan in The Miracle Worker my freshman year and had to learn the alphabet. I want to learn more, but I don't have time :(_

_SugarCakes123: I am very glad you enjoy it! It is very fun to write and I have big plans for this story. _

_Mikey Jacquez: It is actually not as hard as you would think it would be to keep the italics and quotes straight. I think it would be weird to be deaf, but sad too. My Papa actually didn't come see Little Shop of Horrors because he didn't think he would be able to hear it. :( I probably will lose my hearing in my old age, knowing my family. I should really learn sign language, huh? The Disney references? You know me and Disney. We're like that (crosses fingers)! I love little kid Annie and Finn. They are cute. Mikey, why would you betray me with Stef Dawson?! I mean, she is great and all but... I'm Annie :( It's alright, Uriah... I understand... XD _

* * *

Chapter 1- Whiteboards and Making Out

2013

_Finnick_

Light filtered in through the classroom though a single window. The walls were all candy colored, shades of green yellow and blue that made the other kids happy. It just made me angry. I'm not mad at those kids though. It wasn't their fault they were born with a defect. I know that just as much as anyone. I'm mad at the situation. I'm mad I'm not treated with the mental capacity I have. I hate being treated like I am dumb. I am deaf, not dumb.

Our class has fifteen people. Four of us are deaf, Johanna, Gale, Katniss and me. There is a blind girl named Delly, but we don't communicate that well. If we need to speak to her, we get one of the life skills teachers to translate. The other ten students are students with actual development issues. I pity them. Those kids are the kids who need to be pitied. I don't.

Johanna notices my distress. _What's wrong?_

_Nothing. Just thinking. _My fingers are quick. I say the words out loud, too. According to the life skills teachers, I sound just like I am hearing. Beetee was right. I practice talking anyway. Apparently I have a volume when I talk. Right now, I need to learn to be quieter. When none of the life skills teachers say anything, I assume I am doing good.

_It is never just thinking with you, Finn. What's up? _Her brown eyes are fixated on me. She stares me down like I am about to tell her the most important thing in the world.

_I just wish we were in normal school. It's getting harder and harder to last here. _I don't say this out loud. I don't want to offend anyone. _We're not dumb. We go off on our own and go around campus to run errands a lot. We have even spoken in front of classes in the school. Well, I spoke while we all signed. It's not like they think we are dumb. _I let out a sigh.

Johanna pats me on the back. _Don't worry, fish head, they'll notice what we can do eventually. I think the problem isn't that they think we are unable. The school probably cannot afford translators. That's what Annie told me, at least._

I look at her. _Who is Annie?_

Johanna rolls her eyes. _She is my step sister. My dad married her mom. _

I shrug. _I take it she is hearing?_

Johanna nods, but laughs. _Yeah, but she has been signing since she was five. She won't tell me why she started signing. _

I shrug. _That's nice. _

After a few moments of us doing nothing I look over to her. _Why did you transfer schools? Was Lee not a good enough school?_

She laughs once again, but by the look in her eyes, she is bitter. _I was treated like I was a first grader there. I was given no freedom at all. That wasn't a good enough reason to transfer though. Then there was this ex. This one guy Annie dated, I think his name was Gloss, started touching her and doing all these dirty things she didn't want to do. He almost raped her. I got in a fight with him. He didn't expect a deaf girl to fight, but I did. I screamed too. They had never heard a deaf person scream. Annie told me it was terrifying. I was forced to transfer after that. Annie was given the option to follow. She did. _

I look at her, amazed. _Wow. That is crazy._

She nods. _Yeah. I'm glad we left. _

After a while, Katniss and Gale, who were trying to do some last minute studying for a test, came and joined us. _What's going on over here?_

Johanna looks at Gale and smirks. _Talking about how hot you are, handsome. _

Gale chuckles. _Glad to hear it. _

Katniss rolls her eyes. _Last thing he needs is an ego boost. Jo, who has the bigger ego? Finnick over here, or Gale?_

I look at her offended. _I do not have a big ego!_

Johanna laughs. _You're ego is huge! You are mister 'Girls always check me out at the mall and then still try to talk to me after they figure out I'm deaf' then you laugh._

Gale bursts out laughing. Katniss hits him on the shoulder. _Don't you be getting a big head, now! You're usually with Finnick when all the girls are checking him out! _

Gale and I roll our eyes. _You know you can't resist this. _Gale signs, looking at Jo with a smirk on his face.

Jo licks her lips and plants one on him. _That ought to give you enough of an ego boost to last a lifetime! _Katniss signs. Johanna flips her off.

Gale and Johanna have been flirting with one another for as long as she has been at this school, but neither one had really done much about it, until now. Right now they were getting into it. They continued to have their make out session until one of the teachers, Portia, comes over. The teachers, Portia and Cinna don't sign, so we all have a dry erase board we write on to communicate with one another. She scribbles on the board with an angry face. 'Cut it out, Jo and Gale.'

Katniss and I smirk while Gale and Jo pick up their boards. 'Sorry.' Gale writes. Jo just draws a frowny face. The teacher laughs at this.

She scribbles on a board once again. 'Nice try, Miss Mason. You and Gale can go back to making out once we get out of school.'

She then turns her back and goes to talk to Cinna, who comes over to us. 'It's about time I gave you all a new assignment, huh?'

We all roll our eyes and groan. Katniss scribbles on her board. 'Please not another one!' Johanna draws a crying face. Gale drew an arrow pointing at Johanna's board. I wrote nothing. Cinna's assignments aren't bad at all.

'We're going to read The Great Gatsby. I'll get you all your books tomorrow. The other classes in the school are starting this book as well. We are going to get a braille copy for Delly, then when we are all done, we are gong to have a class discussion. Alright?' All nod. Cinna smiles and pats us on the back and writes on his board once more. 'Happy reading.'

* * *

**We are actually going to be starting the Great Gatsby in my English III class on Friday, so I will be reading the story at the same time the characters are. That will be fun, getting to add personal experiences in with the book. Well I hope you enjoyed! Please please please leave a review! Those really help out with my writing. **

**Thanks to the 4 people who added this story to their favorites! Thanks to the 7 who are following as well!**

**-Juliet **


	3. I Hate Daisy

**Okay, I know I said Graceland was probably going to be updated next, but I really felt like writing this. I have my idea for Graceland, no worries. Hopefully it will be updated this week, but I am glad I got this chapter! I love this story so much already and have big plans for it! Also, sorry it took so long. Last week (over Christmas) I was on a Disney Cruise! I had to stop myself from crying when I got off. It was so fun! Only bad part? No free wifi. Oh well! **

_Mikey Jacquez: Oh miss Jojo, what are we going to do with you? _

_Epicblonde52: Aww! That means a lot to read that! Actually I am planning on double majoring in Musical Theatre and Creative Writing when I am in college, meaning when I am in college I should attempt to get my Mrs. degree as well (in case I don't succeed in either career) but I'm glad you think I should be a writer! I wish I could speak ASL... I know the alphabet, sorry and thank you._

_i dont care i VV: That is actually not true. There are a lot of E's in Gatsby... Sorry :(_

_Dannie Odair: Sorry for the wait! I'm glad you like them :) _

_SugarCakes123: Update is here! I don't think I'm going to make Finnick insecure, because he is Finnick, but I'm glad you like! Also, since when am I really up for normal stories? All my modern day stories have had huge twists in them :) _

_Nicolexoxo2715: I am glad you like! _

* * *

Chapter 2- I Hate Daisy

_Annie_

_Somehow the character that I anticipated to be my favorite ended up being on my hate list. I hate Daisy. How the heck can she do something like that to Gatsby, then expect to walk away as if nothing happened. I mean, Tom is higher on my hate list, but it isn't as heartbreaking. Tom has the description of a character you are supposed to hate. Daisy seems sweet and innocent._ She isn't. Johanna is staring at me as I rant to her for the fiftieth time.

_Yeah, yeah. I get it Annie. You hate Daisy? Can we move on? I have to write a paper over two characters, not just Daisy. _She sighs.

_Well, I'm not going to write my paper over Daisy at all! I'm writing it over Tom and Gatsby! Tom is by far the easiest to describe and Gatsby is my second favorite. Nick is my favorite, of course. _I sign as I contemplate everything I need to put on my paper.

Johanna rolls her eyes. _Well I thought you would have loved Myrtle the most. _She is being sarcastic, but she doesn't even realize what she said.

_I love Myrtle! I mean, I hated the affair and I would dislike Myrtle if I ever met someone just like her, but Myrtle was one of my favorite characters in the book! _Johanna puts her arms in the air in defeat.

_Between you and Finnick I get no peace with this book! Please, text him! _She signs frantically.

I roll my eyes. _I don't even know this guy. I only know what you tell me. From what you have told me I have gathered he is an arrogant jerk who gets on your nerves but is somehow your best friend? You only tell me bits and pieces, Jo. _

She laughs. _Yeah yeah, whatever. He is a really cool dude. He has a slight ego, but it's like in the way Gale has an ego. _I see my phone buzz on the table and Jo takes a swipe at it, grabbing it before I can reach it. _Who is this Peeta? You didn't tell me you got a boyfriend!_

I shake my head. _Eww, no! He is my friend and project partner for this book. Nothing more, Jo. _

She rolls her eyes and passes me my phone. _Then why is he asking what kind of cupcake you want? _

_Because he works at the bakery in the mall. _Johanna smirks at me but drops the subject when her phone vibrates. _Well, you'll have an opportunity to meet Finnick. He, Gale and Katniss are all coming over to work on the paper. You should invite cupcake man. _

I roll my eyes. _His name is Peeta. _Despite this I send Peeta a text message. He responds that he will be over with a dozen seven-up cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. My mouth waters at this. Peeta is certainly my best friend since I moved schools. I didn't have too many at my old school anyway.

_Hey, can bread boy sign? _Jo asks me.

I shake my head. _He can write and I am teaching him. He knows that alphabet, as well as sorry and thank you. All else fails, I can translate. _Jo shrugs and pulls out her laptop. Her laptop is the same as mine. A MacBook Pro, but she has a purple case and an elephant sticker on her Mac. Mine has a pink cover and a picture of Snow White. Jo laughed when I got that sticker, because Snow White is holding the Apple symbol in hr hands, but also because I am seventeen years old with an obsession with Disney Princesses. I don't really care.

Not long after we are both set up, Johanna with her secondhand copy of the book, dog eared in random places and myself with my brand new copy with different colored sticky note and hilighters marking different quotes, there is a light flashing. We don't have a normal doorbell, our just flashes a light so Jo knows when there is someone at the door. I get up to open it but I don't know who it is at the door. He is tall and well built, with bronze colored hair and sea green eyes. He looks like someone out of my fairytale dreams just walked right out of the pages. He looks taken aback as well. _Hi. Is Johanna here? _He talks while he signs. He is a tad loud, giving away the fact he is hard of hearing, but not too loud. It isn't terribly noticeable.

I nod. _Yeah. She is at the table in the kitchen. _The guy smiles at me and goes to the kitchen, where Johanna as made camp. The guy doesn't sit next to her though. He chooses a spot next to my pink laptop, at the bar in the kitchen, and pulls out his laptop, also a MacBook Pro, with a blue case. Before long everyone has arrived. Everyone has their MacBooks (in every color of the rainbow) sitting around our kitchen table. Johanna is next to Gale and his red laptop, looking at something on the internet, not at all on task. Katniss and Peeta, who appear to have met before, are showing notes and communicating with one another with the Notes app and Finnick, as I discovered his name was, is sitting next to me, looking up different characters. He has his book organized much like I do. He has multicolored sticky notes jutting out from over fifty different spots throughout the book. Neither of us talk to one another until he signs something.

_I hate Daisy. _I look at him intently and let a smile cross my lips.

_I'm not the only one? _I sign back to him. He shakes his head.

After another moment of silence he looks at me. _This is a really stupid question, but when you were six, did you have a pair of red rain boots? _

I look at him with an open mouth. I suddenly recognize him. He is older and a lot more handsome of course, but it is the boy from the bus stop. "Oh my gosh." I say it out loud and Peeta turns his attention to us.

"What is it, Annie?" He asks.

"I met this guy when I was six!" Peeta laughs and turns his attention back to Katniss.

Finnick is looking at me, laughing. _Well, we have some catching up to do. _I nod in agreement.

**Last update of 2013! Goodbye 2013! You have been good to me! Before this year I probably would have had none of you reading this! This year I released my story 'Search All of the Alaskan Sky for You' and that story is the reason I have 'Graceland', 'Candles', 'Apples of Forbid', 'Infinity: Sea Glass', 'Dear Mom', and this story, as well as other stories I am a part of, like 'Unchanging Love' by MikeyJacquez (where I write as Gloss and Creek) and 'It's All in Their Hands (7th Hunger Games)' by 24 by 24 where I write as Ariella Dawson, from District 1! You are all amazing, so I want to thank everyone this year! **

**I want to thank my 16 favoriters and 18 followers for this story. **

**I want to take this time to also thank the 83 people who have put me on their author alert list and the 88 who put my on their favorites! Most of that was this year! **

**I did not imagine any of this when I joined April 30, 2011. Here we are, going into 2014. I'm trying to not cry. **

**With love**

**-Juliet**


	4. Red Umbrella and Finnick's Thongs

**First update of 2014! Yay! Thanks so much to MikeyJacquez for making the title picture for this story! It looks fantastic! Be sure to check out his stories as well! He is a fantastic author. Guys! I'm updating fast, but only 3 reviews? :( Maybe we can up that number? Just a little bit? Maybe all of you just had actual lives on New Years Eve! I understand that. :D Reviews inspire me to write faster and want to work on the story more though... So keep that in mind :) **

_Epicblonde52: I am very glad you like it! Happy New Year to you too! :D_

_SugarCakes123: Aww thanks a ton! I'm glad I made you go awwwww! I love cute little awkward scenes. I hate awkward awkward scenes but cute ones are fine. I'm very glad you like the story. :) _

_Peetawillalwaysbemine: *highfives* I'm glad you like it! _

Chapter 3- Red Umbrella and Finnick's Thongs

_Finnick_

Christmas came and vanished as quickly as it appeared. The day of New Year's Eve everyone came over for my annual Christmas/New Years celebration. Johanna, Katniss and Gale made their usual home on my living room couch, perched in the corners and huddled in blankets, sipping hot coco out of mugs made to look like snowmen but I also invited Peeta and Annie to come to my annual Christmas Celebration. It had been six weeks since the time we wrote the paper in class and Peeta and Annie quickly found their way into our group. Peeta has improved at signing. He still isn't fluent, but he is on his way. Annie often helps him hold conversations without using paper and pen.

The repeated flashing that symbolized the doorbell ringing caught my attention. We were just waiting on Johanna and Annie to make their appearance. They showed up, with their presents held in an overnight bag that was pink, green and white. I assumed the bag belonged to Annie. Johanna made her way over to the couch and found a happy spot next to Gale and Katniss. Peeta stood awkwardly in the corner. Katniss patted the couch next to him and he made his way over. I decided to help Annie with the presents. "Is this all of them?" I say the words out loud and don't use my hands, seeing as they were preoccupied holding gifts. Annie smiled and put down the gift she was holding.

_That's all of the gifts. No worries. We each brought our Secret Santa and White Elephant. _Her lips moved while she was signing, so I assumed she was speaking.

"Great." I place the last gift out of the bag and place it under the tree. When we get up I notice there is only one more spot to sit on the couch, seeing as Johanna and Gale were sprawled all over it and looked like they had no intention of moving. I start to open my mouth to offer Annie the couch, but she was already seated on the floor, her back leaning on the front of the couch. _Annie, you can sit on the couch. I'll take the floor. _

She shakes her head and laughs. _No, it's fine! I always sit on the floor. It is not a problem. _I roll my eyes and go to sit down next to her. _You don't have to do that. _

"I want to." I try to keep my voice quiet. Annie has helped me a lot in learning to control volume. I think I've gotten better, especially seeing as Peeta doesn't even look in our direction. I smile as I see the blush creep over Annie's face. I look into her eyes and feel my heartbeat quickening. I don't know what this feeling is. I quickly stand up and go to the center of the room. _Who wants to do White Elephant? _I sign. Peeta looks to Annie confused and she laughs, throwing her head back, explaining what said. The two have a few more moments of conversation, ending when both are cracking up. Does she like Peeta? I shake it off as I get the Santa Hat that contains the numbers one through six. I go around the room and let everyone draw a number. I the fish out the last remaining number, the number four.

Katniss gets up first, since she had the number one. She picks up a skinny rectangle that looks like a DVD case. She opened the package and inside was the movie Moulin Rogue. She looks at it and shrugs. She is not a hopeless romantic, or a fan of Romeo and Juliet type films, but it is still a good movie. Apparently the music is good, though I wouldn't know. Gale is next and he grabs the biggest box there is. When he opened it a bunch of green and red balloons came flying out and tied to the balloons was a stuffed penguin. He held up the penguin in victory, but Johanna, holding number three, came up and stole the stuffed animal. Chuckling, he picked up another rectangle package. _This has got to be a book. _When he opened it the title of the book was called "This is Not a Book." Everyone was cracking up at the irony of the situation. Next, I grabbed a shoebox sized box and opened it. Inside was a pair of fluffy socks, three pairs of brightly colored women's thongs and a Christmas bra. Johanna, Annie and Katniss are cracking up.

_Who bought this? _I signed as quickly as I could, my face turning red from laughing.

Johanna raised her hand. _Annie was there when I bought it and I told Katniss which box not to open! _

I rolled my eyes and took my seat next to Annie again. I guess I'm glad it was me instead of Peeta who got the women's clothing. I think he would have been more embarrassed than anything if he opened it. Peeta was the next one to stand up. He took Moulin Rogue from Katniss and smiled sheepishly. _I like this movie. _His hands were slow to sign, but the signs were all correct. We applauded him for it. Katniss then grabbed one of the two remaining presents under the tree. It was in a small, square shaped box. When she opened it there was a thing of mistletoe and a note. 'Use on someone before the night is over.' _Who brought this? _Katniss signed. She had a mischievous and nervous look on her face. Gale raised his hand and Katniss rolled her eyes. _Okay, who gave you the idea? _

_Honestly? I read it on a fanfiction called Infinity: Sound of the Waves. _Everyone laughed and Annie told Peeta what Gale said. Finally, Annie got up. The only package left was a longer package. She looked at all the present options, then settled on the unopened package. When she opened it, there was a bright red umbrella. I smiled at this. That was my gift. I was hoping she would get it.

After a while we decided it was time to open Secret Santa presents. I had been given Johanna as my Secret Santa, but I still didn't reveal that information. We went around the room and Gale opened his gift first. Inside was a pair of nice brown, combat style boots. _Wow. _He looked around the room. _Katniss? _She shook her head. _Finnick? _I shook my head and his eyes landed on Jo. She also shook her head. We were allowed three guesses before we were just told who is was. Peeta raised his hand.

_You like hunting, right? I noticed your old boots were getting worn. I asked Johanna about your shoe size. _Gale was smiling at the gift, while Peeta slowly signed the words.

_These are great, man! Thanks! _

Johanna was next. I knew for a fact she would enjoy her gift, and unleash it on us tonight. It was a nerf gun. It took her no time at all for her to identify me as the one who got the gift for her. _Guilty. _Jo put her hands up in victory for having guessed who was her Secret Santa on the first try. We finished everyone on the couches. Johanna had given Katniss a new set of twelve arrows because Katniss loved archery and Katniss had given Peeta a new pastry cookbook. Then it was my turn. When I opened the gift there was a tackle box filled with different types of lures and fish hooks. My only options for guessing were Gale and Annie. Gale knew I was into fishing so I was going to guess him, until I saw Annie's eyebrows raise.

The move was very slight. Most people wouldn't have noticed it, but it was more than obvious to me. For some, unknown and strange reason, I feel drawn to her, like a magnet. _Annie. _She nodded her head, a smile escaping her.

She opened her gift and saw three nice new scarves. One was a blue infinity scarf. Anther was sea green infinity scarf with silver threads woven in and the last one was a soft pink, blue and green scarf. Annie got up and gave Gale a hug. _Thank you, Gale. _Gale smiled. I'm sure he was relived he got a gift for her right.

We sip hot coco, eat cookies and wait for the New Years Ball to drop, welcoming 2014. Then we see it above us. Annie and I were laughing at a joke and Katniss and Peeta were holding the mistletoe over our heads. Annie rolled her eyes and tried to refuse, but they wouldn't allow it. I pulled her in and did what I hoped was a whisper in her ear. "Don't worry, Annie." I assume I did a good job whispering, because Peeta has no changed expression, but Annie does. I kiss her quickly and we pull away, satisfying Katniss and Peeta, though not satisfying myself. I felt a spark. Even that little peck felt so right with Annie. Somehow, in the next hour, our hands find one another and stay like that.

**Again, Happy New Years! **

**Thanks to the 17 favorites and 21 follows! You are all amazing :)**

**-Juliet **


	5. Back to School, Back to Hell

**Yay! Update! I'm really proud of myself guys, I've been doing great at updating this past week. I hope it continues throughout the rest of the school year. *knocks on wood* Fingers crossed! Note! I added people talking in quotations and italics in this chapter ( **_"like this" _**) and that symbolizes they are talking and signing at the same time :)**

_Mikey Jacquez: You know me! Cheesy cheesy cheesy! Why would Katniss use mistletoe on herself when she sin't even dating Peeta? Lol. Now I wouldn't put it past her to do that to someone else who wasn't dating... I'm glad I'm able to update this story so much! I love it! _

_Peetawillalwaysbemine: Aww thank you! *noms cookie* It was yummy! Peeta (who will always be yours) made this, didn't he? I'm very glad you like the idea! This is a really fun story to write :) _

_Guest: I'm glad you liked it! Here's an update for you :)_

_MeaganOneDirection: I'm glad you like it! It's a story that kind of writes itself, making it a lot of fun to write. _

_MeaganOneDirection: Aww! That is so sweet! You just completely made my year! Happy New Years to you too!_

_SugarCakes123: Full Disclosure: I found the picture before I wrote the chapter and just loved the image so much I had to put it into the story... I love White Elephants and Secret Santa! Finnick is not a shy person and we shall see how Annie felt. _

Chapter 4- Back to School, Back to Hell

_Annie_

I wake up for the first day of the semester with my phone playing Ho Hey by the Lumineers. I haven't been sleeping well as of late. My sleep is always haunted by dreams and nightmares. Usually nightmares. They aren't anything major. I don't wake up screaming, I just blink my eyes open and the world I was in fades away, much to my relief but every now and then there are dreams I don't want to wake up from. Tonight was one of those dreams. It was raining outside. I was wearing a white dress and my hair was curled. I had the red umbrella I had won in White Elephant on New Year's Eve. I was standing in the rain waiting for someone. When he finally did arrive we kissed and life was perfect. After we kissed I opened my eyes and I saw it was Finnick. As I remember that part of my dream I blush. There was nothing going on between him and I. We kissed once and held hands for the rest of that night. He sent me a few friendly texts and I responded to them, but we don't flirt or anything.

I crawl out of my bed and go to the the bedroom where Johanna is still asleep. I hit her with a pillow and she grunts and turns over. I then turn on the light and she glares at me. Johanna is just across the hall from me and we both go to school at the same time, so I'm in charge of waking her up. _Time for school. _

She rolls her eyes and gets out of bed. _I never would have guessed. _

I go back to my bedroom and allow myself to get ready, pick out a skinny jean and blouse combo, put them on, brush my teeth and then go back to my bedroom where I do my makeup and run a brush through my hair. I never do much with my hair. It's silky by itself and looks shiny, like how most girls look when they do a really good job straightening their hair. It never takes me long to get ready. I'm always ready by seven thirty. Seven thirty-six at the latest. Johanna is another story. She is slow to get ready and takes twice as long to do her hair. How, I have no idea, considering I have a lot more hair than her. It's seven fifty when we leave for school and seven fifty-five when we arrive. School doesn't start until eight-forty, so in those times I am usually hanging outside of the theatre classroom or in tutorials but today I go with Johanna to hang out with Katniss, Gale and Finnick. I send Peeta a text to tell him to meet us. Johanna leads the way through the downstairs part of the building and leads me out a door and into a building separate from the rest of the school.

Bright is the first words I think when I go into the classroom. The walls are all very bright. Three other students sit in the classroom in wheelchairs, their heads lolling to the side. I feel pity for them. They're so innocent. They do nothing wrong and are punished to live life like this. Johanna walks by them as if nothing is new. The only other person in our group here is Finnick. He lights up when he sees me and I feel a blush spreading across my face, last nights dream replaying once again in my mind. _Annie! _He runs over to me, picks me up and twirls me around in a giant hug. He is laughing and I am doing the same and banging on his back with my fists.

"Put me down!" I keep laughing, but I know he can't hear me. He finally does when a young male teacher starts to make his way over here. I look down guiltily. "_Sorry._"

He shakes his head. "Nothing to apologize for. Now, how do you know these rascals?"

I am surprised he doesn't sign as he talks, but Johanna and Finnick are watching him closely. I forget they know how to read lips. "_Johanna is my stepsister and I met Finnick when I was six, though we didn't become reacquainted until a couple of weeks before the break." _

The teacher nods. "That's cool. I'm Cinna, one of the teachers in this class." He holds out his hand for a handshake and I shake his hand. "How long have you been signing?"

I smile. "_I learned how to sign eleven years ago, when I was six. That was the year my mom and Johanna's dad started dating. I also met Finnick that year and I wanted to learn to sign because of him." _

Cinna nods. "Do you think you would be willing to teach Portia, the other teacher for this class, and myself how to sign? We could pull you from one of your elective classes and give you the credit in here."

I smile. "_I would love that! I have a friend who I am teaching how to sign. Is there any chance you can do the same thing for him and let him come to class as well? Him and I both have PE first period." _

Cinna nods. "I don't see why not. I'll go email the office and get you two transferred over to this class first period. What are both of your full names?"

_"Peeta Mellark and Annie Cresta." _Cinna nods and goes to a computer in an office.

When I turn back Finnick and Jo are smiling. _Wow, I cannot believe Cinna just got you into our class! That is great! _Johanna signs, smiling from ear to ear.

I smile and nod. _Yeah, I'm really excited. The four of you could help me teach them how to sign, if you wanted to. I'm sure Cinna would be more than happy to have extra teachers. _

Finnick smiles and looks at me. _We'll be able to hang out everyday now, Annie. _

I smile back at him. _Yeah. It'll be fun. _

We just keep looking at one another, not a word exchanged. His eyes draw me in and I cannot help but be mesmerized by them. They are sea green, bright and welcoming. Johanna leaves us when Gale comes into the room, Katniss and Peeta in tow. Katniss has a spiral and two black pens for her and Peeta to use, but I know that because she has made a habit of carrying it around. Finnick and I don't stop looking at one another. "Beautiful." He whispers.

My eyes open wide in shock. _Excuse me? _

He shakes his head and smiles his charming smile and leads me to a couple of beanbags on the opposite side of the room. _Annie, I need to admit something. _

I look at him, confused. _What is it? _

He looks nervous as he signs, but the smile never leaves his face. _I like you, Annie. I mean, I like you, like you. _I say nothing and the smile starts to fall off of his face. _I suppose there isn't a chance that you would like me, too. _

I grab his hands, which are once again about to start signing, and stop them from doing so. _Finnick, I like you too. _

A smile spreads across his face. _Really? _

I nod. _Yeah. That first day, the day at the bus stop and on the bus, I went up to you because I felt like I knew you. Is that weird?_

He shakes his head. _No, I felt like I recognized you as well._

We sit there for a couple of more minutes smiling like idiots, not a word exchanged. _What now? _I sign after a while.

_Annie, would you do me the pleasure of accompanying me on a date? _

I nod. _Of course, Finnick. _

I hear the bell warning us that we have five minutes ring. _I've got to go, Finn. _My expression matching his, smile falling.

Peeta is waving me over. He is collecting our books. He passes me my aqua canvas and brown leather backpack and my pink binder that I use in the mornings. We are leaving the classroom when Cinna stops us. "The school approved you two transferring in here to teach and learn sign language! When you get your schedules they should still say PE for first, but you are to report here instead. They are going to tell your PE teachers the change."

We nod, smiles on our faces. "Can we just leave our stuff here then?" Peeta asks.

Cinna nods. "Of course. You're part of our class now. Feel free to come here any time you want, you two. Not just first period."

I go to the classroom where I was assigned to get my schedule. Sure enough PE is still listed as my first period, but I know to go to the classroom where Finnick and the rest of them are. "What are you smiling at, Cresta?"

I look for the source of the voice ad see the beautiful blonde twins looking at me, eyes glaring. Cashemere and Gloss Costure. They followed me. They transferred over to my new sanctuary when they were the reason I left my old school in the first place. I give them a deer in the headlights look and Cashmere grabs my schedule. "Oh, lucky you. We have third period together. English is going to become my favorite class." My heartbeat increases in my chest as the two throw insults, jokes and laughter at one another for the rest of the period, the teacher supervising taking no notice. When the bell rings, I run. I manage to make it to the classroom before I break down crying, Finnick taking me in his arms. My sobs are quiet, but my tears stain his shirt.

Johanna looks at me and signs. _They're back, aren't they? _

All I can manage is a nod.

**Uh oh, Cashmere and Gloss are back. That was honestly a very spur of the moment decision on my part... Anyway, please leave a review, they mean a lot to me!**

**Thanks to my 19 favoriters and 23 followers! You all rock!**

**-Juliet**


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